Citrus Herbed Roast Turkey

Recipe by Molly
at missmollymakes.com

5 from 3 votes

Planning your new fancy dinner or Christmas meal? Look no further than this Citrus Herbed Roast Turkey! Succulent, tender meat with a wonderful homemade gravy.

Prep Time20

Cook Time2

Total Time2 20

Servings:

Calories: 123kcal

Ingredients

For the citrus herb butter

114 g lightly salted butter softened
4 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon zested and juiced
1 orange zested and juiced
¼ tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
3 tbsp fresh sage chopped
3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

For the turkey

3-6kg turkey thawed
1 orange quartered
1 lemon quartered
4-6 cloves garlic cut in half
4 sprigs thyme & sage
¼ tsp salt and pepper
¼-½ cup dry white wine
2 tbsp chicken stock powder
1½ cups water
¼ cup plain flour

Serving

mashed potato
green beans
cranberry jelly

Instructions

for the citrus herbed butter

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together thoroughly. This can also be blended. Set aside.

For the turkey

Organise a rack on a lower shelf of the oven and preheat to 220°C/440°F.
Use a roasting pan with tray/rack. If you don't have a roasting rack, use crumpled aluminium foil to elevate the turkey from the base of the pan.
Using paper towel, pat the skin of the turkey dry and place in the roasting pan. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, garlic and herbs. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey.
Gently loosen the skin around the turkey breast area by running your fingers between the skin and the breast meat. Take 1/4 of the butter mixture and rub it, thoroughly, under the skin on the breast and leg meat. Coat as much of the bird as possible. Coat the remaining butter mixture over the skin being sure to cover the entire bird.
Tie the legs of the turkey together with kitchen twine. Mix chicken stock powder with water and pour onto the bottom of the roasting pan.
Place the roasting pan in the oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 180°C/350°F.
Using brush or baster, baste the turkey with the pan juices every 30 minutes. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers at least 165°F.
Roasting should be calculated at about 13 minutes per 500gm/1 lb). Start checking the temperature after 1.5 hours roasting time.
Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Let the turkey rest for approximately 15-20 minutes before carving.

For the gravy

Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a glass or heatproof bowl. Using a spatula, scrape up any fond (browned bits) from the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour the pan juices through the strainer and discard the contents. Set aside for a few minutes for the fat to rise to the surface.
Keep 1/3 cup of the fat from the surface and transfer into a medium saucepan (if you don't have enough fat, add oil or butter to make up the difference). Discard the remaining fat. Measure the remaining juices, then add water to make up the amount to 2 ½ cups.
Place the saucepan over medium heat then whisk in the flour and cook until slightly darkened in colour, about 1 minute. Pour in the pan juices, whisk to combine, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until thickened to the desired consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Add extra water if you'd like to thin it out.

Bring it all together

Serve the carved turkey with mashed potato, gravy, cranberry jelly and greens.

Nutrition